mean magician Sandman Slim returns from Hell to smash, slash, burn, beat, maim, and kill. it appears his time spent in the lower depth's gladiator arenas has only served to sharpen his skills rather than to mellow his temper. fortunately, he's not a bad guy and he's exercising his violent capabilities in Los Angeles, where there is plenty of room (and need) for such endeavors. he's an endearing sort - a man on a mission with a heart of gold. well maybe not gold, but certainly high quality silver...

How could I have gone years without hearing about this book?Simply said, I enjoyed it to a ridiculous degree. I picked it up mostly because of the blurbs on the back, authors I trust not to lie to me said glowing things. I was only 30 pages in when I called the local bookstore to order the other books in the series. I like Kadrey's writing. It doesn't feel like he's trying desperately to impress me. It doesn't feel like he's trying to mimic the big powers in Urban Fantasy Butcher, Harris, Briggs...

Remember that movie The Crow, with Brandon Lee? Ok. Sandman Slim has that same vibe...minus the emo goth-boy hero and scruffy little girl with a skateboard.James Stark is the pulp fiction style anti-hero of this story, who has literally been to Hell and back. Eleven years after being betrayed by a group of magicians, whose leader used Stark as the sacrifice to catapult himself to incredible power, he escapes from Hell with a new name and a new reputation. Sandman Slim, the monster who kills mons...

If our personalities are derived from the characters and novels we tend to enjoy (in my case both reading and writing), then I’d make a strong candidate for Shithead of the Year. Hell, I don’t even need a running mate. I suppose I could leave it at that, and just walk away, probably leaving more than a few of you scratching your heads. But I might as well expound upon my point, because once you start shoveling shit you might as well keep going.You see, James Stark is a character I’m not supposed...

“Fuck me. I’m a rock star. And all I really wanted was a burrito.” ➽ And the moral of this reread is: My #1 boyfriend. Worse than the bogeyman and tooth decay. Not a fan of mythological soap operas (a shame, that). The Joseph Stalin of laundry. Loves painting walls with livers and spinal cords. Gives fellow monsters girls booty calls to massacres. Always in for a cigarette, a drink, and a lobotomy. How anyone can resist his undying charm is one of the greatest mysteries of the univers

So I just read this and now I have a big problem. I just want to go, "squeeeee squeeeee squeeeee" about the book, raving like a lunatic about how much I loved it, about how I had just found my next favorite UF series, but that doesn't actually SAY anything, you know?But you know UFs. It's ALL about voice. The snark-meter is dinging all the time in this one. I'm totally enjoying the fish-out-of-water vibe, too, but more than all the rest, it's like we got a grown-up, jaded Hogwarts alumni who had...

After the second read-through, I've come to the conclusion that Sandman Slim is Jason Statham starring in a Simon R. Green Nightside story. Pulpy urban fantasy on steroids, it's perfect for an adrenalin read, but I recommend a pass if you are in the mood for deep thinking or don't feel up for violence.Jason-cough- I mean, Stark--has made it out of Hell and is looking for revenge. Eleven years ago, six fellow members of a magic circle sent him to Hell, and his mission is to kill them all. Landing...

Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?Review to come, all I can say is this book really hit me in the right mood. How are you?I'm okay. All I need is a cigarette, wine and a lobotomy and I'll be all good.Yep. Definitely caught me in the right mood - pessimistic, weary with just the right smattering of humour to keep me upright. Buddy read with Karishma. Thanks so much for introducing me to MacHalos and this fantastic book, Karishma <3.4.5 starsHis movements are quick and jerky like a broken w...

This is crazy, dirty urban fantasy at its most deliciously brutal. Stark (don’t call him Jimmy) is back from Hell, and he’s got a one track mind. All he wants is to kill the people who put him Downtown 11 years ago, and killed his girl. Save the world? Hell no. Be a hero? F*ck that. He boosts cars like most people catch busses, smokes like a train, and has a knack for not dying. And he really doesn’t give a shit for anything or anyone—only his revenge. While he’s getting his revenge, people keep...

Having recently exited Hell, Stark is rather peeved at those who had sent him there for eleven years, and is eager for revenge. He has a fondness for stealing cars and making mayhem. Los Angeles comes in for some laugh-out-loud funny noir treatment.Richard Kadrey - from his site Richard Kadrey has created a world not unlike Kim Harrison’s Inderland, a blended world in which the magical and non-magical co-exist. I love Kadrey’s dark sense of humor, which reminds me very much of the Hell Boy serie...

Ohhh, "Sandman Slim", what a date it was! My first encounter with dear Mr. Stark aka lovely Sandman Slim was when I read the great reviews of Sarah, the Murderous 💜 I was deeply charmed and intrigued, well mostly because my latest date with Daniel Faust wasn’t very gripping for me and I was looking for another great character (with some similar abilities) in the lead to woot, drool and swoon for! And I found him for sure in "Sandman Slim" 💜 Interesting plot with great action, blood, gore and mi

Sandman Slim is a dark, urban fantasy read about a magician who was given to demons by people he considered his friends. Now, James Stark's back for revenge.Because, what does he have to lose. He's already been to hell.".. I'm lucky that way. Always have been. Otherwise, I might have crawled back into this world and ended up a charcoal briquette in my first five minutes home. And wouldn't those black-hearted bastards down under have laughed when I ended right back in Hell after slipping so sweet...

Men, you want hard-boiled urban fantasy? Here's a treat! Fans of Charlie Huston will get into this "just-escaped-from-hell" anti-hero.

Ever read a book and find yourself thinking, "This is pretty good, but it could have been face-melting awesome."? This is one of those books for me. I really liked it, but found myself picking some serious nits while reading it.Stark was a magician (a real magician, not a sawing-a-woman-in-half kind) who was madly in love with his girlfriend Alice when he was betrayed by another magician named Mason and some others. Mason managed to send Stark to hell, but as a living person, not a dead soul. 11...

I guess I'm just getting old, but I'm so tired. I started 3 (4 if you count Tooth Fairy which I gave all of 2 stars) Urban Fantasies recently...one I took off my books completely as a waste of time and I didn't even bother to rate or review it...another I stopped reading and gave 1 star as another in a long line of anti-hero clones etc...now this one, and it's the same. I don't mind antiheroes, if their good antiheroes. This is another mouthy guy with attitude that I can't find even remotely bel...

This was a slobber knocker of a book! Entirely original to anything I've read. I thought I'd be getting something similar to the Dresden files but it's not at all (not that being similar to Dresden would be bad!). The battle inside Stark's head reminds me of Spawn. He's a really kick ass character with a vendetta and the armies of Heaven and Hell exist. The magic is really cool. Definitely picking up the next book soon.

Okay, this is NOT a children’s book, just FYI. This is noir urban fantasy, like Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series, but even grittier. The main character, James Stark, aka Sandman Slim, is betrayed by a group of powerful magicians and dragged bodily into Hell, where he spends eleven years fighting in the gladiator pits of Lucifer. Somehow he survives, and eventually manages to escape back to Los Angeles. Now he’s looking for the people who betrayed him, but to get revenge, he’ll have to navigate...

WOWZA!! Rarely have I encountered a main character so loaded with ANGSTY RAGENESS and OMNIDIRECTIONAL BADITUDE as James Stark (aka Sandman Slim). I mean this guy is full of ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!...and it works...mostly. Now let me say at the outset that I don’t read a ton of Keith Urban Fantasy. I enjoy The Dresden Files on a casual, non-rabid, basis and despite wanting to bitch-slap the main character for his all too often bouts of annoying. I really liked The Devil You Know and plan on reading...

*** 4.25 ***"I'm hard on things. Everything ends up broken, ripped apart, modified, stuck together or shot to shit. I'd be naked as Adam and cold as a polar bear if it weren't for duct tape."A gritty, unapologetic, demonic Pulp Fiction! What a fun read! Not for the tender hearted nor the young, but for all of us who are fans of episodic serial pulp-noir, full of raw prose and very little which indicates the book and the author take themselves too seriously, this is right up our alley. A young hu...

It's not just good ... it's [author=Charlie Huston] good.